You do, in fact, need a cutting board (and for that, we have recommendations). And, of course, Tanya has one—in fact, she recently acquired a new end-grain wooden cutting board, which she said she’s quite fond of.
But if she can find a way to slice, chop, mince, or snip without pulling out the bulky board, wiping it between tasks, and lugging it to the sink to clean it, Tanya said she’ll take it. “I really hate a cutting board,” she explained. And we’re betting you will too. These tools help her tackle common prep tasks a bit more nimbly, and they will help you do the same.
Use a microplane
“You will rarely catch me mincing anything,” Tanya said. “I’m either doing a rough chop, or, better yet, I’m microplaning something.” A microplane—essentially a fine, handheld grater—makes quick work of ingredients like garlic and ginger, so you can get them into the pan without laboring over a cutting board.
Top pick
This handheld zester has sharp teeth and a narrow face, so you reach every nook and cranny on a lemon or a block of cheese.
When you swap a knife for a microplane, you might need to make a few informed adjustments to your recipe or technique. “Is the consistency of grated garlic different than the consistency of minced garlic?” Tanya said. “Yes. Does that mean that the grated garlic is going to burn faster than the minced garlic? Also, yes,” she explained. “I will adjust my cooking heat, or maybe I’ll put the garlic in a little bit later, or I’ll put it in with a couple of other items so it doesn’t get scorched.”
Or try a mandoline
“I hate mincing, but I also don’t love chopping,” said Tanya. She said she swears by her mandoline for slicing vegetables—like Persian cucumbers or stalks of celery—for salads.
A mandoline is a handheld plane used to thinly and evenly slice vegetables and firm fruits, like apples, horizontally across a blade. Propped firmly atop a bowl, a microplane can swiftly shave cabbage into slivers for slaws or slice potatoes into uniform thicknesses for gratin. “That’s like one, two, three, I’m done,” Tanya explained.
Plus, a mandoline is easy to clean, especially if you rinse it as soon as you’re done using it.
Top pick
This classic mandoline has razor-sharp replaceable blades and a hand guard for safety.
Tanya said she has an older version of our top mandoline pick, the Super Benriner. It’s efficiently sized, and it has a durable blade and a safety guard (for protecting your fingers while you’re slicing).
About that safety guard: Mandolines have an exposed blade, rather like a wood planer, so they can be dangerous if you’re not paying attention. We offer tips for how to use them safely.
Give a blender a whirl
Using a blender is another great way to circumvent pulling out the cutting board. Tanya said she swears by her personal-size blender. Compared with a full-size blender or a food processor, it’s easy to clean yet still large enough to swirl up a creamy or herby sauce to add quick flavor to vegetables. (A mini food processor, which Tanya also recommends, can do a similar job.)
Top pick
Powerful, convenient, and easy to use, this personal blender will save you time in the morning, so you can get on your way sooner.
Best for…
This mini chopper dices well and is extra-roomy, and it was the only mini processor we tested that had two drizzle holes, for frustration-free drizzling. But it slacks on dicing herbs.
Tanya said she even gravitates toward the personal blender for larger portions, such as making soup or sauces for a crowd. “I’ll do things in batches if I really have to,” she said. “To me, it’s still worth batching things out and blending it in there than it is to bring out a full-size blender.”
Get hip to kitchen shears
Once you get kitchen shears, you might wonder what took you so long. Tanya said she uses her kitchen sheers to “chop” herbs, scallions, or chives. (Tearing herbs by hand can also work well). You can use sheers to snip herbs directly over a pot or dish or into a blender for a sauce—without having to dirty a board.
Top pick
One micro-serrated blade helps these scissors grip while the other blade makes a clean slice—something that can’t be said of the competition in this category. You can pull the blades apart for easy and thorough cleaning.
Kitchen shears differ from other scissors because they’re specifically designed to cleanly slice through slippery things with relative ease. We recommend the OXO Good Grips Kitchen and Herb Scissors (8.75-inch), which are great to use for herbs, meat, and, most importantly, pizza. And they can last for years.
Procure a peeler (or use a teaspoon)
“I don’t tend to peel a lot of things with softer skins,” Tanya said. That includes items like apples, potatoes, and ginger, depending on the recipe. Even so, a peeler is good to have around.
Top pick
This heavy and durable straight swivel model peels efficiently, and it tackles hard-to-get crevices with its handy potato-eye remover.
Tanya said she prefers using stick peelers (which mimic the motion of peeling with a paring knife) over Y-shaped ones. Choose the style that feels safest and most intuitive for you. Her favorite is our top-pick swivel peeler, the OXO Good Grips Pro Swivel Peeler. She said the blade on hers has stayed sharp over years of use, and the silicone handle provides a comfortable, stable grip.
When it comes to ginger, a peeler is not required. Tanya uses a teaspoon—a common trick for ginger fanatics (I do the same). “You can get into the crevices of a really mangled-looking ginger root a lot easier with the round edge of a spoon than you can with the vegetable peeler,” she says. Plus, you lose less precious ginger root in the process.
